JP2002140637A - Device and method for electronic data rental and computer readable recording medium with electronic data rental program recorded thereon - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To rent electronic data by setting a rental period for allowing the electronic data to be reproduced. SOLUTION: A rental server 10 sets the rental period desired by a user from a reproducing device 20 in a reproduction condition as a reproducible period and distributes the rental period together with contents data to the reproducing device 20. In such a case, the server 10 sets the rental situation of the contents data to be rented in 'rental impossible' and prohibits subsequent rental. The device 20 that has downloaded the contents data reproduces the contents data only during the rental period designated in the reproduction condition. Meanwhile, the server 10 checks the rental end data of the rented contents data and returns the rental situation to 'rental possible' when the rental period expires.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic data rental apparatus and an electronic data rental method for providing a user with desired electronic data, and a computer-readable recording medium on which an electronic data rental program is recorded.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, rentals of rental works and rental videos have been available. However, these basically required the user to go to a rental bookstore or rental video shop.

At present, the Internet, which is rapidly spreading worldwide, provides a service for paying not only text but also electronic data of copyrighted works such as music and images.

Generally, in a distribution service of electronic data such as music, in order to prevent a user from illegally copying the content, the distribution server converts the electronic data of the content into compressed and encrypted distribution data from the distribution server to the user's playback device. Sent to. And in the user's playback device,
Using the decryption key issued after the payment for billing, the distribution data is reproduced by a dedicated reproduction program for decrypting / decompressing and reproducing each time the distribution data is reproduced. This reproduction program is prevented from being illegally copied and used, for example, by specifying installed hardware.

[0005] In the electronic data distribution service, in order to prevent illegal duplication of contents by a user,
For example, electronic data of content is distributed as distribution data with a usage period set so that reproduction of the electronic data becomes impossible in one week.

[0006]

Here, let us consider the rental of electronic data. As with conventional books and CDs, electronic data cannot be copied without restriction and provided to the user as long as it is rental, and the number of items that can be rented at one time is limited. That is, in the rental of electronic data,
The rental company can acquire the required number of licenses from the content supplier and rent out the licenses to only the users corresponding to the number of licenses at the same time.

[0007] Because of such a limitation, the conventional technique of selling out electronic data cannot be directly applied to rental. Note that, in general, in the case of a rental in which the electronic data itself is to be rented, it is meaningless to return the rented object at the end of the lending period due to the characteristics of the electronic data.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic data rental apparatus capable of setting a rental period for permitting reproduction and renting electronic data to a user. An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic data rental method and a computer-readable recording medium on which an electronic data rental program is recorded.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided an electronic data rental apparatus for distributing electronic data to a reproducing apparatus so that the electronic data can be reproduced only during a rental period. A data rental device, a rental status storage unit that stores a rental status of the electronic data, a distribution unit that distributes the electronic data with the rental period set to the playback device, a clock unit that indicates a current time, For the rental status storage means, the rental status of the electronic data during the rental period is set to be unrentable, and when the rental end of the electronic data is reached by referring to the clock means,
Management means for returning the rental status of the electronic data to a rentable state.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an electronic data rental method for distributing electronic data to a reproducing apparatus so that the reproducing apparatus can reproduce the electronic data only during a rental period. So,
A rental status storage process for storing the rental status of the electronic data, a rental period setting process for setting the rental status of the electronic data during the rental period to be unrentable, and the reproduction of the electronic data with the rental period set It is characterized by including a distribution process for distributing to the apparatus, and a return process for returning the rental status of the electronic data to a rentable state when the rental of the electronic data ends at the current time with reference to the current time.

With the above configuration and method, the electronic data rental apparatus and method set the rental status of the electronic data to be rented during the rental period to “not rentable”. Further, the above-described electronic data rental device and method return the rental status of the electronic data whose rental period has expired to “rental possible”.

Therefore, according to the above-described electronic data rental apparatus and method, a rental period during which reproduction is permitted is set, and the electronic data is distributed to the reproduction apparatus so that reproduction can be performed only during the rental period. can do.

Further, according to the above-described electronic data rental apparatus and method, the rental status of electronic data can be returned to “rental available” immediately after the rental period expires. Therefore, when the rental period set at the time of lending expires, the next rental or the reservation of the next rental can be reliably performed. As a result, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the rental article cannot be returned even after the rental period has expired, which has been a problem in the conventional rental shop, so that the next rental cannot be performed. Therefore, a smooth electronic data rental service can be provided.

In order to solve the above problems, the electronic data rental apparatus of the present invention further comprises: the management means sets a rental start time of the electronic data rental period in the rental status storage means. The distribution means distributes the electronic data, for which a rental start time is set by the management means, to the playback device before the rental start time.

Further, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the electronic data rental method of the present invention further comprises, in the rental period setting process, setting a rental start point of the electronic data rental period; The electronic data in which the rental start time is set is distributed to the playback device before the rental start time.

According to the above configuration and method, the electronic data rental apparatus and method set the rental start time (reproduction start time) as the reproduction condition, so that even if the electronic data is during the rental period, It is possible to set a rental start time of a new rental after the rental start time (reproduction end time), and to distribute the electronic data to the reproduction apparatus in advance.

Therefore, according to the above-described electronic data rental apparatus and method, it is possible to prevent a situation in which a user who has accessed to intend to borrow a content cannot be borrowed because it is being lent.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the electronic data rental apparatus of the present invention further comprises: the distributing means, together with the electronic data, rental period information indicating a rental period set by the managing means. On the basis of the rental period information, the electronic data is distributed to the reproducing apparatus that reproduces the electronic data only during the rental period.

According to the above configuration, according to the electronic data rental device, it is possible to control the reproduction and copy of the electronic data in the reproducing device. That is,
The electronic data rental device distributes rental period information indicating the rental period lent to the user to the playback device together with the electronic data. Then, for example, a reproduction program dedicated to reproducing electronic data in the reproduction device can be permitted to reproduce the electronic data only during the rental period based on the rental period information.
Further, by incorporating a copy guard into the reproduction program, duplication of electronic data by a user can be prohibited.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer-readable recording medium on which an electronic data rental program is recorded. It is a computer-readable recording medium on which a data rental program is recorded.

With the above configuration, the electronic data rental device can be realized on a computer by the electronic data rental program read from the recording medium.

[0022]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

The rental server (electronic data rental device) 10 according to the present embodiment sets a rental period during which content data (electronic data) such as music for which the right to rent has been acquired from the copyright manager P can be reproduced. And provides it to the playback device 20 of the user. In the present embodiment, as the content data that is a literary work, images such as still images and moving images and sounds are targeted.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the configuration of an electronic data rental system for renting content data to a user by transmitting distribution data from the rental server 10 to the playback device 20.

The content data is stored in the rental server 10 by the user and the playback device 20 for playback.
Are added, and are compressed, encrypted, and distributed to the playback device 20. The reproduction condition includes rental period information indicating a period during which reproduction is possible.

When the user starts using the rental of electronic data, a reproduction program dedicated to reproducing the content data is installed in the reproduction apparatus 20 for reproducing the content data borrowed by the user. As will be described later, the playback program has a function of downloading content data from the rental server 10 via the communication network N such as the Internet, playing the content data only during the rental period, and prohibiting copying.

As shown in FIG. 2, for example, the rental server 10 is a content that has acquired the right to rent (license) in accordance with a contract with a copyright manager P such as a record company, publisher, video production, game maker, or the like. Is a server computer that stores the data of. The rental server 10 is a rental server 10
The content data and the license may be obtained from a higher-level server (intermediary agent) that supervises.

The required number of the licenses is acquired for each title of the content, and the rental server 10 can rent the content data to the users of the license at the same time. The rental server 10 stores, as content data, digitized original data of a copyrighted work, or data for distribution converted into a data format suitable for distribution based on the original data.

The rental server 10 can collect rental data such as the number of lending for each title and the usage history for each user based on a management database described later. As a result, the rental server 10 can acquire a new title or solicit an individual user. Further, the rental server 10 can transmit the rental result data to a record company, a publisher, a video production, a game maker, or the like, which is the copyright manager P.
Thereby, the copyright manager P can grasp the rental status of the content whose copyright is managed by himself.

FIG. 2 illustrates a case where the playback apparatus 20 acquires distribution data online from the rental server 10 via the communication network N, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the same data as the distribution data may be lent out via a recording medium in which the reproduction device 20 records the data in a readable manner. That is, a terminal (a rental server 1) is located at a convenience store, a game center, or the like.
0) is installed, the user goes to the terminal, records the same data as the distribution data on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM readable by the reproducing device 20, and purchases the recording medium. Can be considered.

Next, the configuration of the rental server 10 and the playback device 20 will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the rental server 10 and the playback device 20 described above. As shown in FIG. 3, the rental server 10 and the playback device 20 are a general PC (Personal Computer).
) Can be used as a base. Of course, it can also be realized by a dedicated machine having equivalent functions. further,
It can also be realized by a function extension module for a tuner or set-top box of CS TV.

The playback device 20 and the rental server 10 include a control unit 31, a communication unit 32, a data storage unit 33,
Clock 34, operation input unit 35, display unit 36, audio output unit 3
7 are connected via various buses, interfaces and the like.

The control unit 31 performs C for performing various arithmetic processing.
It is provided with an arithmetic processing unit such as a PU (central processing unit). Although not shown, the control unit 31 has an RA required for performing various arithmetic processes.
M (random access memory) and the like are also provided.

The communication section 32 provides an interface with the network N. The network N is assumed to be exclusively the Internet, but may be an intranet or an extranet. The interface of the network N is not particularly limited.
rnet (registered trademark), FDDI (fiber distributed data)
interface), ISDN (integrated services digita)
l network), ATM (asynchronous transfer mod)
e), COM (Component Object Model), VAN (val
ue added network), CATV (cable television)
A communication network, a virtual private network, a telephone line network, a mobile communication network, a satellite communication network, or the like can be used, and any of wired, wireless, and optical communication may be used.

The data storage section 33 is constituted by a recording device such as a hard disk (HD) or MD. The data storage unit 33 stores the rental server 10.
Also, an OS (operating system), various programs, data, and the like necessary for the operation of the playback device 20 are stored.

In particular, as described later, the rental server 1
In the case of “0”, the data storage unit 33 stores a reproduction program for reproducing the distribution data in the reproduction device 20, content data to be rented, and various management data related to the rental service. In the playback device 20,
The data storage unit 33 stores distribution data received from the rental server 10 and various management data related to reception, reproduction, and management of the distribution data.

Here, the recording medium used for the data storage section 33 is not particularly limited. For example, HD, MD, C
DR, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DV
D-RAM, IC memory, floppy (registered trademark) disk, ZIP disk, MO and the like can be used. In the case of a system in which a user visits a rental server 10 (terminal) installed in a convenience store or the like,
The user may bring the recording medium by himself and perform the recording, or the recording medium may be prepared in the rental server 10 in advance, and when selling, the rental fee plus the recording medium fee is charged. It is good also as a form.

The clock 34 indicates the current time of each of the rental server 10 and the playback device 20.

The operation input unit 35 is constituted by input devices such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a joystick. The display unit 36 includes various display monitors such as a CRT (cathode ray tube) and an LCD (liquid crystal display). The audio output section 37 includes an amplifier section, a speaker, and the like, and outputs various audio information.

With the operation input unit 35, the display unit 36, and the audio output unit 37, the rental server 10 can perform maintenance such as checking the operation status and changing the processing operation. In addition, the playback device 20 can perform an input to the rental server 10 in a rental procedure and a playback operation of downloaded distribution data.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing the software configuration of the rental server 10 and the playback device 20 described above.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, the rental server 10 includes a rental processing unit 11, a reproduction program transmission unit 12, a content data transmission unit 13, and a data storage unit 1.
4. The communication interface 15 is provided.

The rental processing section 11 performs processing for controlling the entire rental service in the rental server 10. The rental processing unit 11 includes an authentication check unit 11a, a rental status management unit 11b, and a charge management unit 11c.
It is provided with. Also, the rental processing unit 11
Provides a display screen which is an interface for a user accessing from the playback device 20. Specifically, the screen shown in FIG. 8 or FIG.
6 is transmitted to the playback device 20 to perform content search and rental procedures.

Here, the authentication check section 11a performs an authentication check of the user who has requested the rental server 10 to rent out the content data and the playback device 20. More specifically, when an access request is made from the playback device 20 to the rental server 10, the authentication check unit 11a checks the user ID and password, and only when the check passes, the playback device 20 Access will be allowed.

The rental status management unit 11b stores the rental status to the user in the rental status storage unit 14c of the data storage unit 14 for each license of the content data, that is, for each data ID (described later) of the content data. It is managed by the management database. The content data management database is stored as history data, and is subjected to various types of analysis.

More specifically, if the rental status of the content data is "rentable", the content data can be lent. Then, when renting the content data, by setting the rental status during the rental period to “not rentable”, further rent is prohibited, and duplicate rent is prevented. Also, for content data whose rental status is "Rental not possible",
The current time is referred to by the clock 34 of the own device, and when the rental period has expired, the rental status is returned to “rental possible”. As a result, the content data can be newly rented immediately upon completion of the rental. Note that the content data rental period may be uniformly set in units of days (for example, starting at midnight), or may be set in units of time or the like for each content data or each rental procedure. You may.

The charging management section 11c manages charging information of distribution data downloaded by the user, and issues a decryption key when payment is confirmed. The charge management unit 11
c can calculate the billing information of the distribution data based on the rental unit price of the content data, the rental period, and the like. In addition, as a form of charging of the electronic data rental system, cash payment, payment by a credit card, a debit card, a prepaid card, and the like can be cited. Of course, a membership system or advance payment may be used. In addition, the charging management unit 11c may include a device for collecting and receiving cash, a device for performing settlement using various cards, and the like, and may include a system for controlling these devices.

The reproduction program transmitting section 12 transmits to the reproduction device 20 a reproduction program exclusively for reproducing the distribution data in the reproduction device 20. Here, the reproduction program is stored in the reproduction program storage unit 1 of the data storage unit 14.
4a. Further, the reproduction program includes a program for realizing a distribution data receiving unit 21, a content data reproducing unit 22, a data storage unit 23, and a communication interface 24, which will be described later, in the reproducing device 20. In the procedure of transmitting the reproduction program, the rental server 10 may obtain an e-mail address for contact, credit card information for payment, and the like from the user, and store the acquired information in the data storage unit 14 as management data. .

The content data transmitting unit 13
Is the content data that the user wants to rent,
The data is converted into distribution data by adding a reproduction condition such as a rental period, and transmitted to the reproduction device 20. For this purpose, the content data transmission unit 13 includes a reproduction condition setting unit 13a.

Here, when lending out the content data, the playback condition setting section 13a allows the playback device 20 to play back the content data (playback condition).
Is set and written in the header part (described later) of the distribution data.
Here, in the reproduction condition, at least a reproduction end date at which the lending period expires is set as rental period information. In the case where distribution data is created before the rental period and downloaded to the playback device 20, the start date and time of the rental period (for example, the playback start date that is the first day) at which the rental starts is also set as rental period information.

The data storage unit 14 stores data required for a rental service. In particular, the data storage unit 14 stores a reproduction program storage unit 14a that stores a reproduction program, a content data storage unit 14b that stores original data of the content whose license has been acquired from the copyright manager P, and stores a rental status of the content data. The rental status storage unit 14c is included.

Further, the communication interface 15
It is connected to a network N such as the Internet, and controls communication between the rental processing unit 11, the reproduction program transmission unit 12, and the content data transmission unit 13. Note that the communication interface 15 mainly corresponds to the communication unit 32 (FIG. 3).

In FIG. 1, the reproduction program transmitting section 1
2 and the content data transmission unit 13 are provided in one rental server 10, but may be provided in separate distribution servers. Also, the reproduction program transmission unit 12
May be connected to the communication network N so that the reproduction server 20 can appropriately select a distribution server to which transmission is requested when the reproduction program is downloaded. Alternatively, a plurality of rental servers 10 each having the content data transmitting unit 13 may be connected to the communication network N so that the user can appropriately select the rental server 10 when renting content data.

Here, the management database of the content data managed by the rental status management unit 11b of the rental server 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4, in the content data management database, various types of information are collectively stored for each content data license. Specifically, in the management database, a data ID, which is a management code assigned to each content license, a title of the content, a rental status (rental availability), a rental end date and time, a rental destination (borrowed user name), Reservation status (lending start date and time, reservation user name), maximum possible rental days, rental expenses, rental history (user name, period)
Etc. are recorded.

Further, an example of a data structure of distribution data distributed by the rental server 10 to the reproducing device 20 will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5, the distribution data includes a header section and a data section for each content data. That is, one content data is distributed as one distribution data. However, the data structure of the distribution data is not limited to this.

The header part of the distribution data records file format information, reproduction conditions, data ID, authentication code, reproducible environment, and the like. The file format information is information on the name and version of a reproduction program necessary for reproduction, or information on a compression and encryption method. The reproduction condition is a restriction such as a rental period that can be reproduced set in the distribution data. The data ID is a management code assigned to each content license. The authentication code is a registration code that can identify the lent user or the received playback device 20. The reproducible environment is information on a hardware environment necessary for reproducing the distribution data.

The reproduction conditions are recorded so that the user cannot easily understand them. Then, if the reproduction condition is illegally rewritten, the content data may not be reproduced.

The data section of the distribution data records content data, such as music data and video data. Note that the content data is data that is coded in an encrypted state so that the content cannot be easily analyzed. In general, such content data is often large in size, and thus is encoded in a compressed state.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1, the reproducing apparatus 20 includes a distribution data receiving unit 21, a content data reproducing unit 22, a data storage unit 23, and a communication interface 24. Note that all of these functional blocks are provided in the reproduction program transmission unit 1 of the rental server 10.
2 can be realized by installing the reproduction program received from the reproduction apparatus 20 into the reproduction apparatus 20.

The distribution data receiving unit 21 downloads the distribution data of the content borrowed by the user from the rental server 10 and records it in the distribution data storage unit 23a (data storage unit 33) of the data storage unit 23. The distribution data receiving unit 21 includes an authentication processing unit 21a and a charging processing unit 21b.

Here, the authentication processing section 21a processes an authentication procedure when accessing the rental server 10. That is, when the user borrows the content data, the authentication processing unit 21a sends out the ID and password of the playback device 20 or the user, and the authentication check unit 11a of the rental server 10 performs these authentication checks. Only when the authentication check is passed, the distribution data can be downloaded from the content data transmission unit 13 of the rental server 10.

The accounting section 21b manages and processes the accounting charged by the accounting section 11c of the rental server 10 when the user borrows the content data.

The content data reproducing unit 22
Includes a reproduction condition determining unit 22a and a decoding and expanding unit 22b. Then, the content data is reproduced only when the reproduction condition set by the rental server 10 is satisfied.

When the user requests the reproduction of the distribution data stored in the distribution data storage unit 23a, the reproduction condition determination unit 22a is set in the rental server 10 recorded in the header of the distribution data. The read reproduction condition is read, and it is confirmed whether or not the reproduction condition is satisfied. For example, with reference to the clock 34 of the playback device 20, only when it is confirmed that the current date and time is within the rental period recorded in the header section, the playback permission is notified to the decoding / decompression section 22b.

The decryption / expansion unit 22b performs a decryption (decode) process on the encrypted distribution data, and simultaneously decompresses (decompresses) the distribution data if the distribution data is compressed. The data is converted into a reproducible data format and output from the display unit 36, the audio output unit 37, and the like.

The playback condition determining unit 22a checks whether or not the distribution data is within the rental period, and as a result, if the reproduction end date and time at which the rental period expires is passed,
The distribution data can be immediately deleted from the data storage unit 33, and the user can be notified of the fact by the display unit 36 and the audio output unit 37. If it is before the reproduction start date and time when the rental starts, the display unit 36 informs the user of that fact.
And the user can be notified from the audio output unit 37.

The reproduction condition determination unit 22a may inquire the rental server 10 (for example, the rental status management unit 11b) whether or not the distribution data requested to be reproduced is within the rental period.

The data storage unit 23 stores management data necessary for using the rental service of the rental server 10 and distribution data of the content borrowed by the user (distribution data storage unit 23a).

The communication interface 24 is connected to a communication network N such as the Internet, and controls communication with the distribution data receiving unit 21. Note that the communication interface 24 mainly corresponds to the communication unit 32 (FIG. 3).

Note that the reproducing apparatus 20 may have a function of canceling rental at an early stage. For example, the playback device 20 automatically performs a process of deleting the distribution data or encrypting the result of setting the content data reproduction unit 22 to prohibit the reproduction of the distribution data and transmitting the result to the rental server 10. And the rental server 10
May change the rental status of the content data. Further, the setting of the deletion of the distribution data and the setting of the reproduction inhibition may be performed based on a command issued by the rental server 10.

Next, a process when the rental server 10 rents out content data will be described with reference to FIG. In the following description, it is assumed that rental is uniformly performed on a daily basis.

First, when the distribution server receives the distribution data receiving unit 21, the content data reproducing unit 22, the data storage unit 23, and the reproducing apparatus 20 in which the communication interface 24 is installed, the rental server 10 checks the authentication check unit 1
1a authenticates the user or the playback device 20 (S
1).

Next, as shown in FIG.
When the user specifies the title of the content to be rented and the rental period in accordance with the instructions on the screen displayed on the display unit 36 of the playback device 20 by the rental processing unit 11 (S2), the rental status management unit 11b The rental status of all the content data is checked by the rental status storage unit 14c (S3).

Here, if the rental status of any content data of the title specified by the user is “rentable” during the rental period specified by the user (S4)
YES), the rental status management unit 11b sets the rental status of the content data to “not rentable” during the rental period specified by the user, and stores it in the content data storage unit 14b (S5 (rental period setting process). , Rental status storage processing)). At the same time, the reproduction condition setting unit 13a sets the reproduction condition with the first day and the last day of the rental period designated by the user as the reproduction start date and the reproduction end date (rental period information), respectively (S6 (delivery process)). . Then, the content data transmitting unit 13 creates distribution data in which the reproduction condition is written in the header part and the content data is written in the data part (S7 (delivery processing)),
The content is delivered to the playback device 20 (S8 (delivery process)).

On the other hand, if the rental status of the content data is “not rentable” during the rental period specified by the user (NO in S 4), the rental status management unit 11 b The closest available rental date is extracted from the content data and displayed (S9).

After the content data transmitting section 13 distributes the distribution data, the charging management section 11c may transmit the content data decryption key to the playback device 20 after confirming the payment.

FIG. 6 shows a case where the reproduction start date is set in the reproduction condition and the distribution data can be distributed before the reproduction start date. The rental period from the time when the download is completed to the time when the reproduction ends can be set as the rental period. in this case,
When there is no “rental available” content data, a rental reservation may be made (FIG. 9), and a notification mail may be transmitted when “rental available”. Further, distribution data in which a rental period specified in advance by the user is set may be attached to this mail.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the rental processing section 11 has a function of searching for a title to be borrowed by the user, a table of contents, a synopsis, a reduced image, a digest, and a part of a performance as an outline of the title. May be provided.

Next, referring to FIG. 7, the rental server 1
A process when 0 returns the rental status of the content data to “rental possible” will be described.

First, the rental status management unit 11b refers to the clock 34 of the rental server 10 for the rental period of the content data whose rental status is “not rentable” in the content data storage unit 14b, and Check whether it has expired (S11, S1
2). If the rental period has expired (S12
YES), the rental status of the content data is returned to “rental possible” (S13 (return process, rental status storage process)). As a result, the content data can be lent again.

As described above, in the content data rental service, first, the rental server 10 transmits to the playback device 20 a playback program for controlling the playback of the content data in the playback device 20. This reproduction program is a dedicated program for reading reproduction conditions including a reproducible rental period described in a header portion from distribution data in the reproduction device 20 and performing reproduction only when reproduction is permitted.

On the other hand, the reproduction apparatus 20 installs the reproduction program transmitted from the rental server 10 and constructs a reproduction environment for reproducing the content data. That is, the playback program is stored in the playback device 20.
In addition, a playback condition determining unit 22a for checking playback conditions and a decoding / expansion unit 22b for decoding / expanding and reproducing distribution data are realized.

In the rental server 10, the reproduction condition setting unit 13a creates distribution data by adding reproduction conditions including rental period information to the content data desired by the user, transmits the distribution data to the reproduction apparatus 20, and transmits the data to the reproduction apparatus 20. The management unit 11b sets the rental status of the content data during the rental period to “not rentable”.
Further, in the rental server 10, the rental status management unit 11b extracts the content data whose rental period has expired, and returns the rental status to “rental possible”.

Therefore, the rental server 10
The content data can be distributed to the playback device 20 so that the playback device 20 can play back the content data only during the rental period. In addition, the rental server 10 manages the same content data for each license, so that the rental server 10 can rent while keeping the number of acquired licenses.

Further, since the user can rent various contents while staying at home, the user can use the contents at a lower cost than purchasing. In addition, the user must be within the rental period,
Can be used freely as many times as you want. Further, the user can arbitrarily set the rental period.

Further, the rental server 10 sets the reproduction start time as a reproduction condition, thereby setting a new rental reproduction start time after the reproduction end time even if the license is during the rental period. The distribution data can be downloaded to the playback device 20 in advance. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a situation in which a user who accesses the rental server 10 with the intention of borrowing the content cannot be borrowed because the user is borrowing the content.

The above embodiment does not limit the scope of the present invention, and various changes can be made within the scope of the present invention.

In the electronic data rental system according to the present invention, the method of authenticating the user of the reproduction device 20 in the rental server 10 and controlling the reproduction and copying of the content data in the reproduction device 20 are not particularly limited.
It can be realized by combining any methods. For example, the rental server 10 may distribute the distribution data and its reproduction program as an integrated file without installing the content data reproduction unit 22 in the reproduction device 20 in advance.

Finally, an object of the present invention is to provide a computer-readable recording program code (executable program, intermediate code program, source program) of an electronic data rental program which is software for realizing the above-mentioned functions. The present invention can also be achieved by supplying a medium to a system or an apparatus, and reading and executing a program code recorded on a recording medium by a computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or the apparatus. In this case, the program code itself read from the recording medium realizes the above-described function, and the recording medium on which the program code is recorded constitutes the present invention.

A recording medium for supplying the program code can be configured to be separable from a system or an apparatus. Further, the recording medium may be a medium that fixedly carries the program code so that the program code can be supplied. Even if the recording medium is mounted on a system or an apparatus so that a computer can directly read the recorded program code, the recording medium may be connected to a system or apparatus as an external storage device via a program reading apparatus connected to the system or the apparatus. It may be mounted so that it can be read.

For example, the recording medium may be a tape system such as a magnetic tape or a cassette tape, a magnetic disk such as a floppy disk / hard disk, a CD-ROM / M
Disk system including optical disk such as O / MD / DVD / CD-R, card system such as IC card (including memory card) / optical card, or mask ROM / EPROM / E
A semiconductor memory system such as an EPROM / flash ROM can be used.

The program code may be recorded so that the computer can read out from the recording medium and directly execute the program code. Alternatively, the program code may be read from the main storage after being transferred from the recording medium to the program storage area of the main storage. It may be recorded so that it can be executed.

Further, the recording medium may be a medium that carries the program code in a fluid manner so that the program code can be supplied via a communication network or the like. In this case, the system or the device can be configured to be connectable to a communication network (including the Internet, an intranet, and the like), and the program code can be supplied by downloading from the communication network.

A program for reading the program code from the recording medium and storing it in the main memory;
It is assumed that the program for downloading the program code from the communication network is stored in a system or an apparatus in advance so as to be executable by a computer.

The functions described above are realized not only by the computer executing the above-described program code read out, but also by the OS or the like running on the computer performing one of the actual processing based on the instruction of the program code. It is also realized by performing part or all.

Further, the above-mentioned function is realized after the above-mentioned program code read from the above-mentioned recording medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board mounted on a computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. Based on the instructions of the program code, the functions are also realized by the CPU or the like provided in the function expansion board or function expansion unit performing part or all of the actual processing.

[0100]

As described above, the electronic data rental apparatus of the present invention is an electronic data rental apparatus for distributing electronic data to a reproduction apparatus so that the reproduction can be performed only during the rental period. A rental status storage unit for storing a rental status of electronic data, a distribution unit for distributing the electronic data set with the rental period to the playback device, a clock unit indicating a current time, and a rental status storage unit. The management of setting the rental status of the electronic data during the rental period to be unrentable, and referring to the clock means to return the rental status of the electronic data to the rental enabled status at the end of the rental of the electronic data. Means.

Further, as described above, the electronic data rental method of the present invention is an electronic data rental method for distributing electronic data to a reproducing apparatus so that the reproducing apparatus can reproduce the data only during the rental period. A rental status storage process for storing the rental status of the electronic data, a rental period setting process for setting the rental status of the electronic data during the rental period to be unrentable, and the playback device for storing the electronic data for which the rental period is set. And a return process of returning the rental status of the electronic data to a rentable state when the electronic data rental end time is reached with reference to the current time.

Therefore, according to the above-described electronic data rental apparatus and method, a rental period in which reproduction is permitted is set, and the electronic data is transmitted to the reproducing apparatus so that the reproducing apparatus can reproduce only during the rental period. This has the effect of being able to be delivered.

Further, according to the above-described electronic data rental apparatus and method, the rental status of electronic data can be returned to “rental available” immediately after the rental period expires. Therefore, when the rental period set at the time of lending has expired, it is possible to ensure that the next rental or the next rental reservation can be made. As a result, there is an effect that it is possible to prevent occurrence of a situation in which the next rental cannot be performed because the lent article is not returned even after the rental period expires, which has been a problem in the conventional rental shop. Therefore, there is an effect that a smooth electronic data rental service can be provided.

As described above, in the electronic data rental apparatus of the present invention, the management means sets the rental start time of the rental period of the electronic data in the rental status storage means, Is a configuration in which the electronic data for which the rental start time is set by the management means is distributed to the playback device before the rental start time.

As described above, the electronic data rental method of the present invention further sets the rental start time of the electronic data rental period in the rental period setting process, and sets the rental start time in the distribution process. Is a method of distributing the electronic data to which is set to the playback device before the rental start time.

Therefore, according to the above-described electronic data rental apparatus and method, by setting the rental start time (reproduction start time) as the reproduction condition, even if the electronic data is during the rental period, the rental data can be used. By setting a rental start time of a new rental after the start time (reproduction end time), it is possible to distribute electronic data to the reproduction apparatus in advance.

Therefore, according to the above-described electronic data rental device and method, it is possible to prevent a situation in which a user who has accessed to intend to borrow a content cannot be borrowed because the user is borrowing the content. To play.

As described above, in the electronic data rental apparatus of the present invention, the distribution means further adds rental period information indicating the rental period set by the management means to the rental period information together with the electronic data. And distributes the electronic data to the reproducing apparatus that reproduces the electronic data only during the rental period.

Therefore, according to the above-mentioned electronic data rental apparatus, there is an effect that the reproduction of the electronic data in the reproduction apparatus outside the rental period can be prohibited.

[0110] The computer-readable recording medium in which the electronic data rental program of the present invention is recorded has the above-described means realized by a computer as described above.
A computer-readable recording medium that records an electronic data rental program for operating the electronic data rental device.

According to the above configuration, the electronic data rental apparatus can be realized on a computer by the electronic data rental program read from the recording medium. Therefore, the effect of the electronic data rental device described above can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a rental server and a playback device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the configuration of an electronic data rental system including the rental server and the playback device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a configuration of a computer serving as a base of the rental server and the playback device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of a management database of content data stored in the rental server shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of distribution data distributed from the rental server illustrated in FIG. 1 to the playback device.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a process in which the rental server shown in FIG. 1 lends content data.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a process in which the rental server shown in FIG. 1 returns a rental status of content data to “rental available”.

8 is an example of a screen displayed when the rental server shown in FIG. 1 lends content data.

9 is an example of a screen displayed when the rental server shown in FIG. 1 rents content data.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 rental server (electronic data rental device) 11b rental status management unit (management unit) 13 content data transmission unit (distribution unit) 14c rental status storage unit (rental status storage unit) 20 playback device 34 clock (clock unit) S5 rental period Setting process, rental status storage process S6, S7, S8 Distribution process S13 Return process, rental status storage process

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Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An electronic data rental apparatus for distributing electronic data to a reproducing apparatus so that the electronic data can be reproduced only during a rental period by the reproducing apparatus, a rental status storage means for storing a rental status of the electronic data, The distribution means for distributing the electronic data with the rental period set thereto to the playback device, the clock means indicating the current time, and the rental status storage means determine whether the rental status of the electronic data during the rental period is not rentable. Management means for setting the electronic data rental status to be rentable when the rental of the electronic data is completed by referring to the clock means. apparatus. 2. The management means sets the rental start time of the electronic data rental period in the rental status storage means, and the distribution means sets the rental start time by the management means. 2. The electronic data rental apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electronic data is delivered to the reproducing apparatus before the rental start time. 3. The distribution means according to claim 2, wherein said distribution means reproduces, along with said electronic data, rental period information indicating a rental period set by said management means based on said rental period information during said rental period. 3. The content is distributed to a playback device.
An electronic data rental device according to item 1. 4. A computer-readable recording medium on which an electronic data rental program for operating the electronic data rental apparatus according to claim 1 is recorded, wherein each of the means is realized by a computer. A computer-readable recording medium on which an electronic data rental program for causing the computer to execute is recorded. 5. An electronic data rental method for distributing electronic data to a reproducing apparatus so that the reproducing apparatus can reproduce the electronic data only during a rental period, comprising: a rental state storing process for storing a rental state of the electronic data; A rental period setting process for setting the rental status of the electronic data during the rental period to be unrentable; a distribution process for distributing the electronic data with the rental period set to the playback device; And a return process for returning the electronic data rental status to a rentable state at the end of the rental of the electronic data. 6. In the rental period setting process, a rental start time of a rental period of electronic data is set, and in the distribution process, the electronic data set with the rental start time is replaced with the electronic data before the rental start time. The electronic data rental method according to claim 5, wherein the distribution is performed to a playback device.